FATAL ERROR: SYSTEM REBOOT

Final Reset

Chapter Four: The Proposition

Well, I have no excuse this time. I'm sorry for taking so long to get this out, guys, but real life is an ass sometimes.

I don't want to say much, as I'm just so freaking exhausted from writing up at least three-thousand words in one day alone. So yeah, I'll just let you get to the story.

After finally ceasing abusing the hell out of my «Sprinting Skill», I panted loudly, completely exhausted. But it didn't matter. I had arrived at my destination.

The boss dungeon.

I took a deep breath to calm my nerves, which also served to quell the panting. Then, three words came from my mouth, words that both scared and invigorated me.

"This is it… no turning back now."

With that, I walked into the dungeon, steeling myself for whatever trials awaited me. because I knew…

I'm ready for anything.

As I stared the monster known as a «Reaper's Servant» down, a cold glint in my eyes, I somehow found myself more calm than I ever thought I'd be when facing such an evil-looking beast.

Said monster was made up almost entirely of a dark red cloak with the hood up, though it did have hands, if only to hold onto the massive scythe it wielded. In short, it looked like a smaller incarnation of the grim reaper himself.

And yet I feel so calm… so eerily calm.

After a moment's pause, I put my right sword over my right shoulder, then put my left sword under my right arm so that the tip pointed directly behind me. This was the initial position to activate a five-hit combo for the «Dual-Wielding» skill, a powerful skill known as—

«Depth Impact»

The system assist sent me into the air and carried my right sword into a downward strike through the middle of the monster, followed by a rightward strike by my left sword. Both of my swords dragged my arms up in a double-upward slash that cut through the sides of the monster's chest. My right sword came in for a thrust at its midsection, which was swiftly followed by the final hit of the combo: a powerful spin-thrust that sent it several meters back before it exploded into polygons.

"Whew…"

I sheathed my swords, then proceeded to wipe the sweat from my brow. Eyeing my health bar, I found that I was just barely clinging to the blue, which meant I had just over three fourths left. But I didn't care about numbers like that. As long as I had over half, I didn't see reason for alarm.

After all, in about thirty seconds, my «Battle Healing» regenerates my HP from half to full.

At the moment, I was walking through the third level of the second floor boss dungeon, looking for the target of the Interrupt Mission. All of the walls looked the same – a dull gray color made up of bricks, with the occasional torch lighting up the area – which, of course, made it hard to navigate unless you have your map up constantly. The only sign that helped me in the slightest was the increase in treasure chests as I walked, but that didn't lead to the next level. No, it led to—

"There it is… the door to my target."

I stared down the sealed door before me, hesitating for the slightest of moments. After all, there was a mini-boss on the other side of the door. However, when I attempted to open the door, it didn't budge.

Then there must be a switch in the next room over that unlocks it.

I walked away from the door, heading to the right. I stopped when I saw another room, peering inside. I found a large, blue, diamond-like crystal at the other end of the room, presumably the switch that unseals the other door.

"This was too easy," I muttered under my breath. "There has to be a trap somewhere."

Wait a second… what if the other room is… well, only one way to find out.

I opened up my menu, scrolling to the map function. I looked at the data for the sealed room next to the room with the switch.

The stairs are behind the sealed door, huh? If that's the case, then there's only one place that could house the mini-boss.

"Looks like I've found my target."

I walked over to the blue crystal switch, then touched it on the upper side facing me. The sides separated, revealing a glowing white sphere in the center. I heard the sound of the door in the next room opening, and when I turned around, I realized that the door to the room I was in had simultaneously sealed.

Suddenly, a large, pitch-black shadow appeared on the floor in front of me. It began to bulge out from the ground, making waves of dark energy fly everywhere. Then, the shadow disconnected from the ground entirely, shooting up into the air with a deafening roar.

What the hell?

Then, the shadow began to take shape as an indigo cloak, with a skeleton head under its hood. In its bony hands rested a scythe of massive proportions, the edge a glowing silver. Three health bars appeared beside its head, filling up one by one until they all glowed a blue hue. Then, a name appeared above it.

«SNM: Cronus the Reaper»

I stared it down, drawing my swords as I slowly closed in. Then, as soon as I got within range, the mini-boss swung its giant scythe at me in a deadly attack.

But I had been expecting that.

I jumped into the air just before the scythe hit me, kicking off of the flat of the blade with a skill already in mid-charge. Right when I reached the reaper, the fifteen-hit combo unleashed itself upon him with blinding fury.

«Shine Circular»

My right sword cut leftwards into the midsection of the cloak, then came back in a rightward slash. My left sword followed suit, coming in for a slightly higher rightward slash, then reversing into a leftward strike.

My swords slashed into the middle of the reaper's chest simultaneously, then cleaved outwards. Then, both of my swords came in for a double-upward slash that went from its midsection up into its chest, followed by a double-downward strike that traced the still-glowing red lines of damage from the previous strike.

My left sword slashed upwards, my right following suit soon after. My right sword then slashed downwards, tracing its original slash mark. My left did the same, and when they were both almost to the ground, I made a powerful double-upward slash that sent me into an aerial backflip.

My right sword stabbed into the mini-boss's abdomen, holding it in place for the final strike: a second thrust, this one piercing its chest.

When the final hit made contact, I smirked, watching as the eye sockets of the reaper's skull head started to emit a black gas. This marked the status condition I had just inflicted on it: level one «Blindness».

Over and over, the reaper tried its damnedest to strike me with its scythe. Over and over, I evaded its strikes with ease. On one particular horizontal swing, I jumped into the air, kicking off of the scythe and activating a skill midair.

«Rabid Leap»

The skill sent me plummeting down into a double jab on the reaper's eyes. The resulting roar of pain was earsplitting, shocking my senses and forcing me to jump back to recover. As I flew back, the tip of its scythe scratched my right wrist, sending an intense wave of pain throughout my entire body. When I looked at my HP bar, I found my health down by—

No way! Just a tiny scratch sent my HP down by one eighth?! Just how powerful is this thing?!

I smirked, the rush of the battle starting to get to my head. I put my swords in front of me and parallel to the ground, completing the initial motions to activate a heavy-damage «Dual-Wielding» skill, causing my swords to take on a blood-red hue.

«Crimson Splash»

My right sword began the skill with a thrust to the reaper's torso. My left sword followed suit, and the process repeated itself until I had jabbed it three times with each sword. Then, both of my swords slashed diagonally up through its abdomen. The final hit of the skill, a double-diagonal downward slash, left an interesting status effect in its wake.

There we go! Level two «Bleed»! By the end of its fifteen second DoT, a quarter of its health will be gone!

Yet again, the mini-boss swung at me with its scythe, and yet again, I dodged it. This time, however, the strike came way too close for comfort. I eyed the area next to the reaper's HP bar, finding that the «Blindness» condition was gone.

Man, now is about the time that I wish that I had a player with high speed with me! They could draw its aggro, and I could spam «Crimson Splash» from behind—

The image of a familiar rapier-wielding girl came to my mind, causing me to pause for the slightest of moments.

Why would I think of Asuna right now…?

When I came to, I looked at the reaper before me, noticing something very disturbing: its scythe was glowing.

Oh…! Shit…!

The reaper put the scythe in front of it, an orange aura proceeding to come up from beneath it. What transpired next seemed to happen in slow motion.

The reaper reared the scythe back, the blade glowing a brighter and brighter red.

My eyes widened as I recognized the move as «Fatal Spin», a deadly spinning attack.

The spin began.

Red completely overtook my field of vision.

When I came to, I found the mini-boss on the ground, its scythe on the ground several meters away. I then looked at its HP gage, noting that there was but a sliver of red left in its last bar. I briefly wondered what happened, then looked at the clock in the corner of my vision.

I've been out for five minutes?! What the hell happened to me?!

Before I could wonder any more, I noticed the mini-boss reaching for its scythe. "No, you don't!" I shouted, running at it. I quickly activated «Double Circular», the dash-type attack sending me right in between the reaper and its weapon.

As soon as my skill finished, I chained it into a «Blade Bash», a stun skill with no post-motion delay, and then…

«Inferno Raid»

The most powerful «Dual-Wielding» skill I possessed roared into action, sending my blue-glowing blades into the reaper's torso over and over in eight downward slashes through its chest. Then, a double diagonal downward slash proceeded as the final, double-powered hit. The nine-hit combo had come to a conclusion, leaving the room in silence as I watched the mini-boss's last health bar deplete all the way, until finally, it disappeared altogether. Silence reigned the room for all of five seconds, and then—

«Cronus the Reaper» shattered into innumerable polygons, bathing the room in a bluish-white light. I immediately dropped to the ground, completely and utterly exhausted from the long fight. The virtual adrenaline began to wear off, only worsening my condition. Oddly enough, I still had most of my HP.

I was snapped out of my reverie by three windows appearing in front of me. The first read as such:

Congratulation

You defeated «Cronus the Reaper»

EXP: 1000

Col: 1500

Reward Item: [One-handed Straight Sword] «Cronus's Sword»

"So, I got a new sword…" I panted, still not quite recuperated from the exhaustion of the fight. I waved the window closed, setting my attention on the next.

Congratulation

You completed the Interrupt Mission!

Prize: [Rapier] «Heavenly Heart»

My eyes widened slightly, and I found myself smiling soon after. It looks like I'll be seeing Asuna soon…

I waved the second window closed, looking at the final one with widened eyes.

Congratulation

You leveled up to level twenty-three!

A smile formed on my face, and I found myself saying something completely out of character.

"Life is coming up Kirito!"

After ascending the final staircase, I found myself standing at the beginning of an incredibly long hallway, the boss room surely at the end. I gulped, knowing that I would soon face the hate from the rest of the «Assault Team».

"Well, I guess this is it," I whispered, taking the first step into the hallway. I kept going, not stopping until I finally reached the gigantic door at the end.

The boss door.

"This marks the completion of the mapping of the second floor boss dungeon," I said to no one, going into my menu and unequipping my second sword. I then put my hand in the inside pocket of the «Coat of Midnight», taking out an item that I always kept materialized in case of emergencies.

"Teleport: «Urbus»!"

When I arrived at «Urbus's» «Teleport Gate», I found myself looking around for signs of any players I knew. In other words, I wanted to find and avoid all of the people that hated me. However, instead of finding any players that hated me on the cobblestone streets of the floor's main settlement, I found a rather frightening scene to my left.

Asuna and another player from the «Assault Team» were dueling in the middle of the streets, and Asuna was relentlessly attacking the man. Every time she was about to make a clean hit, she changed her rapier's trajectory slightly so that she would only scratch him, which wasn't enough to end the duel. And of course, since the pain absorber had been removed once the game started, I couldn't even imagine how much pain the subject of Asuna's torture was going through at the time. What's worse, every time the man's HP came close to the yellow, which would end the duel, she would back off, waiting for his HP to replenish to full.

All in all, she was showing complete and utter brutality. It almost scared me.

What in the hell could get her so pissed off? I'd better intervene before something really bad happens.

Walking over to the fight, I tried my best to stop it with my words. "Hey, Asuna! I think he's had enough! Just finish him off already!"

Without even turning to face me, Asuna began shouting with intense rage in her voice. "Stay out of this!" she yelled irately. "He insulted— wait, is that you, Kirito-kun?"

She looked over to me, shock written all over her face. The man she was dueling saw his chance, bringing his one-handed curved sword high over his head in preparation for a strike.

"Asuna! Look out!" I shouted, causing her to turn back to the man. She narrowly evaded his strike, then retaliated with twice the force, hitting him in the abdomen and ending the duel.

The chestnut-haired victor walked over to me, a gloomy look on her face. I looked around for a place to sit, finding a bench just outside of a fancy diner.

"Hey, let's sit down," I suggested, pointing to the bench. "And you can tell me what happened to get you so mad."

"All right…" Asuna whispered, looking down sadly.

We walked over to the bench, but it seemed like Asuna had misinterpreted where I had pointed. She walked straight into the diner, and after a moment's hesitation, I followed.

This is gonna cost me… I can feel my virtual wallet crying out in agony…

Once we found a table and ordered our meals, I decided to get down to business. However, before I spoke, I noticed a tinge of red on Asuna's cheeks.

Why is her face red…? We're just eating out at a fancy diner. Eating… out… oh, crap! This is totally like a…!

To get my mind off of the subject before I started blushing myself, I quickly started talking. "So, what did that guy do to get you so mad?" I queried, still rather shocked at her ruthlessness towards the other clearer. "It looked like you were torturing him."

Asuna looked down once more, refusing to meet my eyes. "He called you scum. You're my friend, so I had to defend your honor…"

As if I had any left to begin with…

"Asuna…" I started tentatively, careful not to hurt her feelings with my words. "That was a bit harsh. It seemed like you would have kept going until your weapon's durability ran out if I hadn't stepped in. I can understand that you wanted to defend me, and I appreciate that. But you still have to remember that this isn't a game anymore, and you can still feel pain. He was probably hurting really badly by the time I got there."

It was then that I remembered one of my reasons for coming back. "By the way, I got a little something for you earlier today."

Before she could ask what it was, I opened up my menu, pulling up the gift window and typing her name into the recipient box. I then put the rapier from Interrupt Mission into the item box, hitting send and smiling in satisfaction.

After opening up her gift window, I saw her check the stats of her new weapon. After a moment, I was pleased to hear a shout of surprise.

"This rapier is so powerful! How did you get it?!" she nearly screamed, forcing me to tell her to quiet down.

I looked around, waiting for the people around us to turn their attention back to their food. After I was satisfied that no one was watching us, I whispered, "Don't freak out, but I got that from the Interrupt Mission on the last level of the boss dungeon. I was mapping it out, and—"

"You idiot," Asuna said, giving me a cold glare. "You took on the whole dungeon by yourself, didn't you?"

I flinched back into my seat at the sight of her intimidating glare. "Y-yeah… I wanted to map out the dungeon and give the data to someone the «Assault Team» can trust. Which reminds me…"

I looked at her with hopeful eyes, causing her to immediately say, "No way."

"What? Why?" I queried, a look of shock dawning on my features. "I didn't even say what I was going to ask!"

"I don't want to just let you chicken out," Asuna said sternly. "Besides, this is a good chance for you to…"

While she spoke, my attention was drawn to a familiar face outside the window next to our table. She wasn't looking at us, but her identity was clear as day to me. I had only seen one person with long, lustrous ebony hair and a figure such as that.

That girl… looks exactly like Kamiko's beta avatar! Does that mean that…? I've gotta talk to her!

"Hey, are you even listening to me?" Asuna asked rather loudly, drawing my attention back to her for a second.

"Sorry, but I have to go," I told her, getting up from my seat. I turned to look through the window again, not seeing a trace of the girl. Just as I got to the door, I whispered, "I've gotta catch up to her…"

With that, I ran out of the diner, leaving a very confused Asuna in my wake.

After at least twenty minutes of searching, I still hadn't found the girl I was looking for. I searched everywhere, and yet I couldn't find even a trace.

"That's just like her…" I sighed, a wry smile crossing my features. "She disappeared without a trace. Even in the beta, she was like that. Then again, who am I to talk about disappearing?"

Then, just as I was about to give up hope, I saw a familiar head of ebony hair ducking into an alleyway. I instantly realized that my target was within my reach, remembering that that particular alleyway was a dead end.

I've got you now!

I ran in after her, slowing to a halt when I saw her right in front of me, claws gleaming in the dim light and dagger drawn from its sheath.

"Why are you chasing me?"

The words sounded so cold coming from her mouth; it was so out-of-character for the raven-haired beauty. I almost backed away in fear, before remembering why she was acting that way.

Right… our avatars look like our real bodies now, so she wouldn't recognize me. Still, it seems like she modeled her beta avatar after her real-life body. The voice proves that it's her.

"Relax, Kamiko," I said calmly. "It's me, Kirito."

Her eyes widened in shock, and her dagger dropped to the cobblestone ground of the alley. "K-Kiri-kun?! Is it really you?"

In less than a second, I found myself enveloped in a tight embrace. I tentatively returned the gesture, smiling softly. "If you hug me any tighter, you might enact the «Criminal Infraction code»…" I whispered.

At this, Kamiko released me, a tinge of red on her cheeks. "S-sorry…"

Seeing the blush on her face, I inwardly flinched. I knew throughout all of the beta… that she felt that way. But still, I kept avoiding the subject. I still feel bad about that.

"Hey, you okay?" Kamiko queried, snapping me out of my thoughts. "You look like you're thinking about something heavy."

I tried to think of a decent excuse, rubbing my neck before saying, "Well… I'm just thinking about tomorrow. I need someone to give the map data to so they can host a boss meeting tomorrow."

The glare on Kamiko's face… it was horrifying. I flinched backwards, feeling the anger radiating off of her.

"You mean to tell me that you went to the boss dungeon by yourself, mapped out the entire thing, and probably did all the Interrupt Missions, too? Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?!" she shouted, tears filling her emerald-green eyes.

Shit! I forgot about her overprotective side!

I knew that I had to calm her down, so I immediately pulled her into a hug. "Calm down, Kamiko. I'm fine. I'm sorry I did something so reckless, but at least I survived to see you again."

That seemed to do the trick, for when I released her from my embrace, she had a fragile smile. "You're doing it again, Kiri-kun. It's not fair…"

I knew exactly what she was referring to, even though she had no idea that I did. I smiled, looking at the street from where I stood in the alley. When I saw what was to be seen, I felt my virtual blood run cold.

"What did I just walk in on?"

In the entrance to the alley, I saw Asuna, looking very ticked. "Mind telling me what I just walked in on?" the chestnut-haired girl inquired, a not-so-subtle edge in her voice.

"W-well…" I started, unsure of how to proceed without hurting either of their feelings. Then, I realized something. "Wait, how long have you been there?"

"Long enough to see your little hug-fest," she said, looking away with an irritated expression.

Before I could retort, I heard Kamiko ask, "Kiri-kun, who is she?"

Not allowing myself the time to think of any negative repercussions, lest I go insane from nervousness, I decided to tell it like it was. Unfortunately, I ended up saying a little too much. "This is Asuna. I met her early on, and she lived with me for the last week before the boss fight—"

It was then that I found my ear being pulled roughly by Kamiko's right hand. She was pissed, and I had no idea how to solve this one. In other words…

I was screwed.

Luckily, Asuna came to my rescue before I had to endure any more pain. "He didn't do anything, so it's fine."

Kamiko just looked at her, and I could tell she was about to bite the poor girl's head off— that is, until she burst into a fit of giggles.

What? Why is she laughing?

"He's really not the type," Kamiko said, finally recovering from her outburst. "In fact, if he actually did do anything, it would never be on purpose. He has to be one of the clumsiest people I know when it comes to… potential situations."

"What do you mean by that—" Asuna started before I cut her off.

"Anyway, I'd best be going," I said, bound and determined to get out of the current situation. As I turned to leave, I found a hand gripping my wrist.

"Wait!" Kamiko shouted.

She's gonna kill me!

"I just got an idea!" she elaborated, causing me to sigh in relief.

"What is it?" I asked, more relief in my voice than curiosity. I turned around, finding an eager-looking Kamiko.

"How about the three of us party up for the boss fight?"

I immediately turned away, lest they see the storm of mixed emotions in my eyes as I gave them my response. "No."

"Why not?" was Asuna's immediate response. "Are we not strong enough?"

I sighed, turning around to face them. I still didn't meet their eyes as I said, "No, you've got it all wrong. You two are really strong players, so it'd be bad if you got shunned because you hang around me, the «Beater». It's not right to put you in that situation, so—"

I felt a hand make contact with my cheek. Reaching my hand up to my face, I felt my left cheek sting with pain at the touch. When I looked up, I saw Kamiko glaring at me with the force of a thousand suns. "You really have no idea, do you…?" she whispered.

"What?" I queried, quite scared by her look and tone.

"You're so concerned for the other people around you that you're blind to how concerned they are for you!"

At this, I backed away, a scowl finding its way onto my features. "Oh, you think I'm clueless when it comes to feelings?" I queried, my scowl intensifying until I was full-on glowering at her. "I'm not as stupid as you think, Kamiko! There was a reason I disappeared near the end of the beta!"

I watched as Kamiko's face turned from angry, to shocked, and then to regret all in less than five seconds. In my angered state, I felt sickening satisfaction at the tears that came to her eyes as she realized what I meant.

"I'm going."

With those words as my parting message, I jumped up onto the rooftops. I began to run, finding solace in the feeling of the wind rushing past my speeding body. I didn't look back. I couldn't look back.

Soon enough, I found myself at the house I had recently obtained as a quest reward, much like my previous house. As I approached, I saw someone waiting at my doorstep, sporting a very familiar golden shield.

That's the «Midas Crest»! Then that means…

I hesitated just before I came within range of his probably high-leveled «Detection Skill», remembering how things left off between us near the end of the beta.

But… I have to confront him if I want to get into my house…

I walked up to him, watching as he turned around with a wide smile. He began speaking in a tone that said he had either completely forgotten how we left off, or he just didn't care. "Yo, Kirito! How've you been?"

I decided not to bring it up, wanting to keep the mood light. "Yo, Cirdan. How did you know it was me?"

"The «Coat of Midnight», obviously," he said, giving me a smirk. "You recognized me by my «Midas Crest», right? Same principle."

"Ah," I replied, giving a small smile. "Well anyway, what say we go inside?"

The inside of my house was quaint, to say the least. Lamps for lights, an antique chandelier over the dinner table, and old-fashioned furniture in the living room, which we were currently sitting on as we talked.

"So you think that I've already got all the map data?" I queried, giving the brown-haired boy an incredulous look. "And you wanted to come to talk strategy for the next boss fight?"

With a 'tch,' Cirdan looked at me harshly. "Look, I'm not stupid. By now, going by the beta's statistics, you would have already gone to Diabel to give him the map data. Without him here, I still doubt that you didn't gather the data to give to someone."

A smirk grew on his features at the look of regret on mine. "Yeah, I have it. Still, you probably know about my legacy as the «Beater». There's no way they would trust me, and Asuna won't take the data."

"Asuna's that chick you finished off the first floor boss with, right?" Cirdan queried, to which I responded by nodding. "Ah. That is a toughie."

"Now you see the problem," I said, a wry smile on my face. "So, you got any suggestions?"

"Why not just try to give them the data yourself?"

I nearly choked on my own virtual tongue at his suggestion. "I believe we just talked about why that wouldn't work," I said once I regained my composure. "Dude, there's no way they'd trust me."

"Dude, just try it," Cirdan said, giving me a thumbs-up. "It couldn't hurt. If anything, it might even help your credibility issues."

I looked down, trying my damnedest to figure out the best possible course of action. Should I even try? The blind hatred caused by Kibaou and my arrogance is really something to be revered. But… it still hurts to be hated. I have to… I have to try to stop it!

"All right…" I said, looking up with an expression of newfound resolve. "I'll try."

"That's the spirit!" Cirdan said happily, giving me a bright smile. "So I guess I should get the word out that the boss meeting is gonna go down tomorrow, and you… you should prepare a speech. You're horrible at improv when it comes to speaking in front of large groups of people."

At this, he smirked, causing me to scowl in turn. "You can be a terrible friend, you know that, Cirdan?"

"I try."

At this, we both burst into laughter for a moment. When it died down, I said, "But anyway, let's use Argo's network to get the news out, and make sure not to tell them who's hosting the meeting."

"You got it. I'll go contact Argo," Cirdan affirmed, smiling and getting up from his seat. He walked towards the door, then turned around so that I could see his serious expression. "Hey, Kirito?"

"Yeah?" I queried, looking at him inquisitively.

"You'd better survive until the end. Call it a gut feeling, but I think that you're gonna be key to beating the game."

I gave him a thumbs-up, smirking cockily. "Who do you think I am?"

He smiled back before opening my front door and walking out. I continued to smile even after he left, wondering how I made such a good friend in the beta.

Cirdan… thanks. You forgave me.

I awoke to the sun beaming down on my face, causing me to immediately rebel and turn under the covers to bury my face in my pillow. Of course, fate wouldn't allow me to fall asleep again. No, not even close. And so, just as I started to get comfortable in my bed once more, I heard the sound of an incoming PM.

I looked at the clock in the corner of my vision, finding the time to be eight-thirty. Who the hell is PMing me this early? I thought grumpily, my brain still foggy from sleep.

I opened up my menu while sitting up in my bed, going into my PM menu and looking at the top of the list. An unread PM from Cirdan stared me down, making me wonder if he was even sane, messaging me this early. When I looked at the subject header, however, my mindset completely changed.

Sender: Cirdan

Subject: Boss Meeting Location

Hey, man! I just thought I should tell you that the meeting starts at the amphitheater of «Urbus» in about twenty minutes. See you then!

"Well, that's oddly fitting," I said, getting up out of bed. I went into my menu and equipped my battle equipment, as well as a cloak to hide my identity as I traversed the streets, then headed out of my bedroom and to the front door. "I'll be putting on a dramatic performance at an amphitheater."

With those words as a parting message, I left the house.

After meeting up with Cirdan at a diner near the amphitheater, I began briefing him on my plans for the speech. He seemed impressed.

"Wow, you've thought this through," he said, a smile on his face. "That's rare for you."

"You're terrible," I told him, a contradictory smile on my features.

"I try."

At this, we shared a laugh. When we calmed down, we decided it was time to go, and so we left for the amphitheater.

As I looked through the curtains and saw the large amount of players on the other side, I found myself incredibly nervous. I couldn't even think of what I had originally planned to say. When I finally remembered, a good three minutes had passed. I knew… it was now or never. I had to do it.

And so, I walked through the curtains and onto the stage, paying the gasps of surprise coming from the players little heed. As soon as I got to the center of the stage, I began talking in a flat voice.

"Sorry, but I don't intend to joke around like Diabel. I'm going straight to the point," I said, immediately receiving glares for dissing their beloved first leader.

I know, guys… I don't like saying it any more than you like listening to it.

"Yesterday, I finished mapping out the boss dungeon by myself," I said, watching as almost everyone in the arena gasped in surprise. Even the ones who had witnessed the boss battle didn't anticipate that I was this powerful. "Now then, if everyone will send me a PM, I'll send a group response with the map data attached."

Just like that, about eighty percent of the players in the amphitheater went into their menus, and a few seconds later, I was bombarded with wave after wave of PMs.

"Okay, that's good. Still, some of you haven't shot me a message yet, so let me explain why I'm doing this," I said, my look changing to one of grave seriousness. "Normally, I would just lead you there, but the dungeon is filled to the brim with traps that reset every time a player enters the area. I marked all the places with traps last night, to be sure to avoid those areas."

I received several more PMs seconds later, though I knew I was still missing one. "Kibaou, just swallow your pride and send me a PM."

"Why should I?" the cactus-haired player queried angrily from his spot in the middle of the stands. "You could be—"

I chose that moment to cut him off. "Misleading you all? Do you seriously think I would try to get people killed by traps before the boss fight even began? I told you before, I'm the best ex-tester. I know exactly how powerful the bosses of this game are, and I also know that every player is vital."

Eyes turned from me to Kibaou, all waiting on baited breath for his reply. This got him nervous, and he soon found himself giving in.

"Whatever," Kibaou said indignantly, opening his menu. A few seconds later, I got a PM from him, signifying that he had finally swallowed his foolish pride.

"Good," I said. I went into my menu, highlighting every new message I had got from the players and hitting the reply button.

Subject: Map Data

—

Attachments: «FL2 Boss Dungeon Map Data (Marked)»

Immediately after I sent the message, I looked back up, addressing the players once more. "Now then, here's where we start to talk about the actual boss.

"First off, his name," I started, pausing for a little while before continuing. "His name is «Baran the General Taurus». Like the name suggests, he's a Taurus-type boss. Basically, he's a Minotaur.

"Next up, his attack patterns," I continued. "In the beta, he wielded a «Warhammer», which is a type of two-handed mace. So, he will obviously use skills for that build, as well as some skills unique to him. However, if his weapon has changed, then his attack patterns will have changed, too. Still, I'm willing to bet that he still has that weapon, so I can still tell you what his attacks will be like until he goes into the red. After that, it's anyone's guess.

"Anyway, since he's using a two-handed mace-type weapon, his style will be full of slow, heavy-hitting attacks that are easy to avoid. That goes for most of his «Sword Skills», too. The issue is, he'll be very prone to wrecking the ground with his «Warhammer». So, I propose this: we're going to need at least one person per party with a stun skill, so that they can stun the boss mid-attack to increase its «Risk» and stop the strike."

I took a breath, preparing to explain what I had just said. "For those of you who don't know, «Risk» is a factor that applies to both players and mobs. The higher the «Risk», the higher the damage they'll take. For players, the «Risk» goes up to five, then goes back down gradually. When we activate «Sword Skills», our «Risk» jumps up to five for the duration of the skill, then goes back down to whatever it was before. For mobs, however, «Risk» works a little differently.

"For mobs, «Risk» doesn't go up to five. Instead, it goes into «Risk Break», a state where it takes double damage from any and all attacks. Depending on how it was invoked, «Risk Break» lasts anywhere from ten to thirty seconds."

I sighed, closing my eyes for the faintest of moments before opening them again. "So, does everyone understand what the plan is?"

I received a wave of nods throughout the amphitheater, making me smile slightly. "Good! We leave at ten in the morning tomorrow! Meeting adjourned, people!"

As I walked off of the stage, I felt two pairs of eyes boring holes into my back. In an instant, I knew exactly who they belonged to, and so I turned around, nodding my head at them and pointing over to a nearby diner.

The deafening silence that persisted even after I bought them meals was beginning to get on my nerves. They just ate quietly, and whenever one of them looked in my direction, I found myself face to face with a glare.

"Look…" I started, trailing off when I saw two glowers. But I knew that I had to face them eventually, and I also knew that there wasn't much time to make amends. And so, I continued. "I'm sorry about yesterday. I said some pretty terrible things, and I know that a simple apology won't make everything better. But still…"

I took a deep breath, looking each of them in the eyes before continuing. "I need you. I need both of you. So… will the both of you party with me for the boss raid?"

Two sets of eyes in front of me widened, their owners looking at me with shocked expressions. After a few seconds, they both smiled, nodding at the same time. I opened up my menu, scrolling through the options until I sent them party invites. They accepted almost immediately.

After we finished eating, we made way for my house. As soon as we entered, I told them to make themselves comfortable while I went to PM somebody. And so, I went to my room, opening up my menu and typing out a PM to Cirdan.

Subject: It worked!

—

Hey, man. Thanks for the pep-talk yesterday, I really needed it. It totally worked, too; I've got the entire raid group with me, at least for the boss fight.

After I sent it, I walked back downstairs, meeting up with the girls to discuss who would sleep where. Eventually, we decided on me sleeping on the couch downstairs, Asuna sleeping in my bed, and Kamiko sleeping in the bed in the second bedroom. And so, later that night, I found myself laying down on the couch, having just bade goodnight to my friends.

Tomorrow… I thought, raising my right hand to my face as I lay on my back. Tomorrow, we take the next step towards freedom.

A solitary tear rolled down her face, and she smiled up at me from her spot in my arms. She looked like she was struggling just to hold her head up, as if her body was getting heavy with each passing second as her life force started to dissipate.

"I'm sorry…" she whispered, still forcing a sad smile.

No! No, no, NO!

"Goodbye."

"NO!"

I awoke to the sound of my own screaming voice, bolting upright on my couch with a frantically-beating heart. I desperately tried to calm myself, looking around as I tried to remember my dream. No dice. All that I could remember was the sound of shattering glass, signifying the death of someone in «Aincrad».

"Kiri-kun!"

"Kirito-kun!"

I turned to the hallway, finding both Kamiko and Asuna looking at me with concerned expressions. I smiled at them weakly, trying my best to sound all right when I said, "Don't worry, girls… I'm fine. I just had a nightmare, that's all."

I could tell that neither of them were fully convinced. Fortunately for me, however, they both decided to drop the topic for the moment after looking above me at the clock on the wall. I turned around, looking up to find that the time was just past nine-thirty. We had to be at the meeting spot in under half an hour.

"Ready to go, girls?" I queried, looking at the resolute expressions on their faces. They nodded in unison, making me smile.

They're in sync. This'll be good for the battle.

As we walked towards the meeting spot, I began to talk to Kamiko and Asuna about the upcoming battle.

"Before we get there," I started, looking over to Kamiko. "Did you already get your «Extra Skill», Kamiko?"

"Yup!" my ebony-haired friend said, giving me a broad smile. "«Shadow Play» is good to go, and I've already leveled it up enough to use some awesome skills."

"Stupid question; I already saw it in the alley…" I whispered, rubbing the back of my neck in embarrassment. I then turned to my other side, giving Asuna a questioning look. "So, Asuna, how high is your «Rapier Skill» right now?"

"High enough to use «Spica Caliber»."

On the outside, I acted unfazed. On the inside, however, I felt shell-shocked. But that skill needs an eight-hundred mastery level! Just how hard has she been training?!

"That's good, but you'll need to be careful using that skill. It may be really powerful, but it gets interrupted pretty easily, and it has a long post-motion delay," I said, looking to the ground in thought. When I looked up, a sparkle had found its way into my eyes. "That's it! Asuna, motion to me whenever you plan to use that skill, and I'll come and activate «Blade Bash» to stun it before you do."

"«Blade Bash»?"

But that's one of the most widely-known stun skills in the game! How could she not— oh, right… she's still part newb.

I sighed, preparing to go into explanation mode. "«Blade Bash» is a «Battle Skill», meaning that any weapon build can use it once it's unlocked. On top of that, «Battle Skills» don't have post-motion delays, and also have shorter cooldowns. Since they're so powerful in that regard, however, they never have more than one hit and effect."

"I see…" my chestnut-haired friend said, though I could tell that some of it went a little over her head.

Well, she still doesn't know too much about the finer points of SAO's mechanics. She's a fast learner, though. I bet she'll be fine.

A few minutes later, we arrived at the meeting place, where all of the other players were already waiting. I looked around at the determined faces of the players, smiling slightly.

"Everyone ready?" I queried, my voice unreadable. After receiving nods of affirmation, I decided to continue. "All right, you remember what Diabel said, right? Team up into parties of six! It'd be best to use the ones you had last time, since you would already be familiar with your party-mates' battle styles."

Everyone began partying up into their old groups, and then, while I was watching, I heard the sound of footsteps coming from behind me. Thinking it must have been someone arriving late, I turned around with a smile, only to find—

"Heya!" a certain brunette said, her hood down for once to show the whisker marks that adorned her cheeks. "I'm willing to bet that these two," she continued, pointing to Asuna and Kamiko. "Are partying with you for the boss raid, right?"

Without even letting her finish, I said, "Yeah, you can come, too, Argo. We'll spit into two sub-groups. I'll team with Asuna, since we've already teamed before, and you can team with Kamiko, since you're both speed-types and claw users."

"Don't tell me you forgot about me, man," a male voice said from behind me. "You can't just abandon me after how I helped you out!"

I turned around, finding a brunet looking at me with his trademark smirk. His golden shield hung on his back over a powerful sword, signifying that he was ready for action. I smiled, giving him a thumbs-up.

"You're in, Cirdan!"

Before I could assign a role for him, he decided to pick one for himself. "Sweet. I'll take the role of watching and directing you guys so you don't end up just swinging and hoping to hit a weak spot. I know that you know how to fight that thing," he said, pointing to me. "But Argo didn't participate in boss raids, Kamiko didn't show up in the clearing group until the third floor, and Asuna hadn't even heard of the boss until yesterday."

"Gotcha," I affirmed, looking at Cirdan with a smirk. "But you didn't have to go to such great lengths to describe why you're the best for the job."

I sent party invites to Cirdan and Argo, both of whom accepted without a moment's hesitation. I then turned to face the rest of the «Assault Team». "Everyone partied up?"

Everyone nodded, leaving me to make the final call.

"Good! Let's move out!"

After traveling up the entire boss tower in the span of forty minutes, we finally reached the boss door. I turned to address the «Assault Team», giving them all an impassive expression.

"All right, here's how this is gonna go!" I said, looking over to my party. "Asuna and I will lead the offensive forces, being squads A through D. Kamiko and Argo, two of the other players in my party, will lead the defensive forces, being squads E through H. The last person in my party, Cirdan, will take on the role of director, telling everyone where to go and when. Everyone got it?"

As I called their names, each of my party members had stepped up from behind me, showing who they were. Everyone watching us gave some form of confirmation, knowing that anyone in my party had to be crazy strong.

"Right! I only have one thing left to say," I told them, looking at each and everyone of them before continuing. "Everyone, try your damnedest to survive! If you're low on health, tell someone in your party to cover for you while you heal! I don't want a single person in this room to die today, understood?"

Everyone nodded in confirmation, and I turned around to face the giant boss door. "All right! Let's go!"

With those words, I pushed open the door, leading the charge into battle.

"Squads C and D! Back off and heal while squads A and B attack from the rear! Squad E! Block the boss's attacks, and squad F, you keep the boss from setting its attention on squads A and B!"

I looked over to Cirdan for the faintest of moments, marveling at his amazing leadership skills. Wow, Cirdan is an even better leader than Diabel!

I looked over at Asuna, who noticed my gaze and turned to look at me. I nodded my head in the direction of the boss, and an unspoken message passed between us. We then began running towards the boss with incredible speed.

When the boss noticed our swift approach, it turned to us, falling prey to my trap as it brought its «Warhammer» down into the ground. The force of the blow created a shockwave that sent both of us flying into the air. I used the spin from the blast to activate a «Blade Bash» on its chest, then turned around to see Asuna running up the rod of the boss's weapon.

As soon as I landed on the ground, I activated another «Blade Bash», then stood back and watched in awe as my chestnut-haired comrade activated «Spica Caliber» from midair. Her rapier began to glow a bright lavender light, and the damage that ensued was massive.

She wasn't kidding! She's probably almost at my level! I thought, watching slack-jawed as her five-hit combo finished with a thrust that sent the boss skidding back several meters.

I looked at the boss's remaining health, noting that we had just passed the first bar. Whoa! We're going even faster than I expected!

Unfortunately, we didn't lose the boss's attention simply by backing away. It came charging straight for Asuna, prompting an immediate reaction from me.

"No way in hell!" I shouted, running towards it with all the speed I could muster. Once I was within range, I put my «Anneal Blade» over my right shoulder, making the blade glow white begin to glow white, before—

«Sonic Leap»

I began to sail through the air, my trajectory aimed straight for the boss's chest. Upon impact, I slashed downwards, causing the boss to stumble back just before it would have hit Asuna with its «Warhammer».

"Thanks," Asuna said quietly, looking up at me with a grateful smile.

"S'what friends are for," I replied, casting my gaze over to Cirdan as I talked.

Just as I saw him, he began shouting orders again. "He's coming back! Squads A and B, fall back! E and F, get its attention while C and D flank it!"

"I'm gonna go team up with Kamiko for an attack," I said, looking to Asuna. "So you team up with Argo!"

"You got it!"

With that as my confirmation, I ran over to Kamiko, who was currently in charge of the squads getting the attention of the boss. She noticed me coming, smiling at me when I said, "Hey! What kind of combos do you have right now that could work in a team strike?"

Locking eyes for only the tiniest of moments, an unspoken message passed between us. "You got it!" I shouted, beginning to charge the boss with Kamiko right behind me.

I activated «Rage Spike», shooting straight for the boss's muscular left leg. Right when I made contact, I pivoted my body slightly so that I would up spinning around its leg and going behind it. I then quickly began to draw its attention by chaining countless amounts of one-hit skills on its back.

It quickly turned around, about to bring its «Warhammer» down to squash its annoyance when Kamiko finally activated a powerful «Shadow Play» skill.

«Critical Slayer»

She jumped towards the boss's back, claws pointing forward, then slashed upwards with said claws in a powerful uppercut while stabbing the small of its back repeatedly with her dagger. Five jabs later, she kicked off of the boss's back and onto the ground.

It quickly turned to her, and just as it fully faced her, the skill continued, causing Kamiko to fly through the air once more. She stabbed the boss in its left eye with her dagger, then stabbed it in the right with her claws. After a roar of pain escaped the boss, she began dragging her weapons down through the entire body of the boss.

Damn, that's freaking amazing! I thought, eyes staring at her in wonderment.

Kamiko chose that moment to interrupt me from my reverie. "Kiri-kun!"

"Right!"

I jumped into the air, putting my sword in the position to activate another skill.

«Star Squint Prominence»

My crimson-glowing sword delivered a devastating diagonal up-left strike through the boss's chest, followed by a powerful rightward slash through its head. The powerful combo continued into a diagonal down-left through its chest once more, then went on into an uppercut that sent the boss's head jerking backwards.

"HAAAAH!"

The final hit of the skill initiated, making my sword rear back. Then, with a speed that rivaled lightning, I pierced the boss's chest, sending it stumbling several meters backwards.

I fell to the ground, rolling as I made impact before getting up and running towards the boss once more. When I reached it, I immediately started attacking it with incredible speed and strength, keeping its attention and giving the other players a chance to attack it from every other angle.

After a particularly powerful slash, I looked at the boss's health bar for no more than a moment. Whoa, we're at the final bar— oof!

I felt something huge hit my chest, and when I looked away from the boss's remaining health bar, I found the boss's «Warhammer» planted firmly in my chest. Almost immediately after, I flew backwards from the impact, crashing into someone behind me.

"Watch where you're flying, Ki-bou!" the person I crashed into said, her nickname for me revealing her as Argo.

"Shut it!" I griped back, turning around to face her. "It's not like I could help it!"

"Whatever," she replied, charging over to the boss and unleashing a flurry of strikes unto its chest.

She's like a completely different person! I thought as I watched her fight.

Somehow, the boss managed to switch its attention to Cirdan, the latter of whom having no idea that he was the boss's next target. My thoughts immediately roamed to Diabel, the first leader of the «Assault Team» and leader of the very same team in the beta, and how he died just one floor ago at the hands of the boss.

No… no!

Activating «Rage Spike», I went sailing towards the boss. But it wasn't enough. I stopped just short of reaching my target. However, before the post-motion delay could kick in, I chained it into another skill.

«Sonic Leap»

Within a mere second, I reached the boss, slashing downwards onto its head. I fell to the ground, watching as it turned around to face me. Before the chain could wear off and let my post-motion delay kick in, I began to activate skill after skill, slowly but surely draining the boss's health until the last bar was to the quarter mark.

Then, my chain reached its limit, striking me with a ridiculously long post-motion delay. I knew that if someone didn't cover for me, I would be a goner, and so I called on Asuna and Kamiko for help.

"Asuna! Kamiko!" I shouted frantically. "I'm under a long post-motion delay, so I need you two to take over!"

"Right!" they shouted in unison, both appearing in front of me in a flash.

They both singlehandedly took on the boss, whittling its HP away while attacking in perfect sync. I marveled at their teamwork before looking at its final health bar, gasping when I did.

It's in the red! It's going to enter into «Rage Mode»!

At that exact moment, I felt my body unfreeze, the long post-motion delay finally having worn off. Unfortunately, that same moment, the boss chose to use a powerful stun skill that blasted everyone back several meters as well as put them all in the yellow.

I have to help!

It began to charge up the same skill, preparing to finish the job. The next part seemed to happen in slow motion.

I ran towards the boss, putting my «Anneal Blade» over my left shoulder in preparation for my strongest skill yet.

The boss's skill, «Numbing Impact», finished charging. It began to bring its «Warhammer» down, determined to finish everyone in the area off.

My skill finished charging. I unleashed it, making me nearly-instantaneously appear in front of the boss with my skill already in motion.

«Phantom Rave»

The skill started off with a diagonal up-right slash that tore through the boss's chest, stopping its attack before it began. My sword then curved around for a diagonal up-left slash, making a red X across its chest. My blade proceeded to drag me into a rightward slash straight through its head, the mark of which becoming retraced in a leftward strike that stopped at the center of its head. The blade then cut down through its head, coming full-circle and engaging in the final hit: another downward strike.

"HAAAAA!"

The final hit tore all the way through the boss's body, dragging me along with it until I found myself kneeling on the ground.

Silence reigned the entire boss room. The only thing that would be heard was the sound of my furious panting. Then, after three seconds…

«Baran the General Taurus» shattered into innumerable polygons, finally ending the long, grueling boss battle. A «Congratulations» window appeared above us all, proving once and for all that we had taken another step towards clearing the game.

I closed my eyes, my vision having grown hazy from my complete overexertion. I panted over and over, my exhaustion unrivaled by anyone else in the room. But I didn't care. I had won— no, that's not quite right. We had all won the battle, and I couldn't have been happier.

And just like that, the room erupted into cheers. They were all cheering a name, I realized – my name – and I had no idea why. They hated me with a passion not more than a few days prior, so what was with the sudden change of heart?

Then, a window appeared before me, snapping me out of my depressing thoughts.

Congratulations

You got the Last Attacking Bonus!

A sub-window popped up, showing the spoils of my victory.

Bonus item

«Moonlit Ring»

I heard the sound of footsteps walking towards me, and when I turned around, I saw the last person I had been expecting.

Kibaou.

"As much as I hate to admit it, today's victory was thanks to you," he said, shocking me to my very core.

As soon as I recovered, however, I stood up, shaking my head. "No, man. Thanks for the sentiment, but it was a team effort," I replied, looking at him with a sad expression. "That's why all of you should be proud of yourselves. You can't expect to rely on me all the time. I mean, what if I die in battle someday?"

I looked at the expressions of everyone in the room, finding utter shock written on every single one of them, even my friends. Even so, I pressed on, determined to drive my point home.

"Even though I party up for boss fights, that doesn't change the fact that I play solo most of the time. Even so, even with all the risks, I still push myself farther than what even most parties are capable of. There's a real big chance that I'll die in battle one day, and no one will know… all because I'm a solo player.

"That's why you guys shouldn't rely on just me, or any one player, for that matter," I continued, shocking the players all around me further and further. "I hate to say it, but most of you were completely reliable on Diabel's guidance for almost all of the last boss fight. When he died, you all stopped working as a team because you didn't know what to do… until Asuna and I stepped in. but even when Egil led you while I was recovering, you were all completely dependent on him for the thirty seconds that he led you.

"I'm not saying that you're all weak or something. You're all really strong, and brave, too. You have to be, just to be here. But still, you guys are holding yourselves back by relying on just a few players to get your back instead of everyone here."

I turned around, a wry smile on my face as I began to head for the door that led to the next floor. "Well, I've said my piece. You'll all see mew at the next boss meeting, like it or not. Until then, all of you… stay alive."

I began walking towards the stairs leading to the next floor, stopping at the very top when I heard someone running up to me. It didn't take a genius to guess who it was.

"What is it, Asuna?" I asked her without even looking back.

For a moment, there was silence. I looked back to see her hesitating, not sure if she should go through and say what she wanted to or not. Eventually, she finally spoke.

"No… never mind. It's nothing."

"All right…" I whispered, leaving only her to hear. "I'll be seeing you, Asuna. Take care."

With those words as my parting message, I opened the door, walking through it and up into the next floor.

The third floor was styled to look like an ancient European kingdom, with castles for cities and all kinds of terrain around each castle. On the southwest side of the floor, where I had walked out from the previous floor, the landscape was filled with willow trees and tall grass that flowed in the gentle breeze.

Ah… I thought, beginning to walk through the «Valley of the Willows» area. This is the first floor I reached along with the «Assault Team» in the beta. Looks like it hasn't changed much.

A few hours later, just before I reached the main castle of the third floor, I heard the sound of human footsteps rushing towards me from behind. I didn't even turn around before beginning to speak in a cold and calculating tone.

"Whoever's there, just know that I can hear you running. If you plan to attack, I suggest you find another target."

"Silly Ki-bou," the owner of the footsteps said from behind me. "You know that I don't normally fight, especially with other players."

I turned around in a flash, finding Argo right in front of me. I just stood there, mouth agape, before finally finding my voice and asking, "What are you doing here?"

"Finding you, obviously," she replied, her tone telling me that my question was totally stupid.

"And why is that?"

She didn't even flinch at my cold question. Instead, she looked at me with one of the most serious expressions I had ever seen her give me. "You said it yourself back there, Ki-bou. It's really dangerous to play solo inn this game. This is the third floor, so…"

Please, don't tell me this is going where I think it's going…

But of course, Fate was never so kind to me. And so, Argo said exactly what I had been fearing. "Once we complete the quest on this floor, you, me, Kamiko, Asuna and Cirdan can form a guild!" she exclaimed, looking at me with a bright smile. "Of course, we'll pick up some new members along the way, but that much should be obvious."

It was then that I heard several more pairs of feet rushing towards us. The first to arrive was Kamiko, followed by Asuna, then Cirdan.

"Dammit… Argo… why… are you… so fast?" the poor boy panted, giving my whisker-clad friend a death glare.

"You're just jealous that everyone else here is faster than you, Cirdan," Kamiko laughed, patting him on the back.

"Not even close," he denied, finally recovering from his fatigue, "I'll trade speed for good defense and perfect blocks any day of the week."

I chose to interrupt them at that moment, asking, "So, you all want to form a guild? This isn't just Argo's idea?"

I knew I shouldn't have even asked. If I joined ab guild, I wouldn't be able to level my «Dual-Wielding» without telling them about it. It's not that I didn't trust them, but for some reason, I felt like I shouldn't tell anyone.

"Well, it started as her idea," Kamiko answered me with a smile. "But everyone here wants it."

"Well…" I started, not even sure why the hell I was considering the possibility. "Give me one week to think on it. In the beta, I played solo for almost the whole time, so it'll take a while to get used to the idea. I'll tell you guys my decision in a week, so in the meantime, you can try to complete the quest that allows for everyone to form guilds."

"All right," Argo agreed, motioning for everyone to move on. "We'll go activate the «Teleport Gate» while you level."

"Got it," I replied, turning around to leave. "Take care… and no matter what… survive."

With that, we parted ways.

As I walked through the «Valley of the Willows», I began to think about what I had to do.

If I do accept, I'll need to level my «Dual-Wielding» as much as I can before meeting up with everyone to tell them. The best way to do that it to push myself past my limits, so I guess I should go to the boss dungeon. If I map that while leveling «Dual-Wielding», it'll be like hitting two birds with one stone.

Once I was sure that absolutely no one was around, I went into my menu, equipping my second sword, «Cronus' Sword». Closing out of my menu, I thought one last thing.

This is it…

With that, I sprinted towards the dungeon.

Yup, that happened. I won't keep you in this note, either. Like I said before, I'm freaking tired right now. so yeah, I'll just give you a disclaimer and be on my way.

I don't own the Sword Art Online light novel series, any of its adaptations, or anything I use from them. Don't kill me, Aniplex.

See you in the next chapter.